Salamanders
The Salamanders are one of the First Founding Chapters of Space Marines. History Vulkan When the infant Primarchs were separated from the Emperor and transported randomly across the galaxy through the Warp by the machinations of the Chaos Gods, one of the children ended up on the feudal world of Nocturne. The baby was found by a blacksmith named N'bel, who, recognizing the child as the one prophesied to be a savior, named him Vulkan. Like all the Primarchs, Vulkan grew very quickly, reaching full adulthood (and a size bigger and more muscular than any man on Nocturne) by the age of only three Terran years. He was also highly intelligent, able to vastly improve the already considerable metalworking skills of the famed smiths of Nocturne. When Vulkan was four, his town was attacked by the Dark Eldar, who were on a slave-taking expedition. The people of his hometown hid, as they usually did when the decadent aliens came raiding, but Vulkan refused to hide. Armed with only a pair of blacksmith's hammers, he roused the people from hiding and drove back the assault, single-handedly slaying a hundred Dark Eldar warriors. As word of the battle spread, the headsmen of the seven most important settlements on the planet came to pay homage to Vulkan, swearing to forevermore crush their foes rather than hiding from them. The Outlander Jubilant at their victory, the people of Nocturne held a great celebration, involving tests of strength and craftsmanship. During the opening ceremonies, a stranger appeared. His skin was pale, compared to the dark complexion of the people of Nocturne, and his clothes were very strange. The stranger claimed that he could best any man at the competitions, causing many people to laugh at the seemingly inadvertent comparison to the superhuman Vulkan. Vulkan accepted the challenge, and the stranger wagered that whoever lost would swear his eternal loyalty and obedience to the victor. For eight days, the stranger matched Vulkan in several events, with neither able to beat the other by more than a slight difference (for example, an anvil-lifting contest was declared a draw after both men held theirs up for half a day with no signs of stopping). The Final Contest Finally, it came down to the final contest: Salamander Slaying. Both men had a day and a half to forge a weapon, then go out and slay the largest salamander, a large heat-loving reptile native to Nocturne, that they could find. Vulkan and the stranger worked all day at their forges, neither pausing to rest. As the day drew to a close, they emerged. Vulkan with a huge hammer, and the stranger with a keen-edged sword. They both climbed to the summit of Mount Deathfire, a massive volcano said to be the home of the largest Firedrakes on the planet. Vulkan found his prey first, smashing its head off with a single blow from his hammer. As he carried the carcass back, the volcano erupted. Vulkan was nearly thrown off a cliff, but managed to grab onto the edge with one hand, stubbornly grasping the tail of his prize with the other. Vulkan held on for several hours, but his hold finally began to slip. It was at that time the stranger reappeared, carrying a salamander larger than his own. The stranger quickly threw his carcass into the lava flow, using its heat-resistant hide as a bridge to cross over and save Vulkan. Vulkan was declared the winner when they returned home, but Vulkan silenced the crowd. He knelt before the stranger, stating that any man who valued life over pride was worthy of his service. The stranger revealed himself to be the Emperor of Mankind, and it was declared that Nocturne would be the homeworld of the Salamanders Space Marine Legion derived from Vulkan's genome, with Vulkan at his rightful place as Primarch of the Legion and ruler of the planet. Horus Heresy and the Aftermath The Salamander's role during the Horus Heresy is not well known to Imperial scholars; what is for certain is that the Legion, along with the Iron Hands and Raven Guard, was part of the first wave of Loyalist attackers during the Massacre of Isstvan V. After the announcement of the Warmaster Horus' treachery and the destruction of Isstvan III, the Emperor ordered seven Legions of Space Marines to attack the Chaos forces serving his son and former friend. But among those seven Legions, four were already secretly Traitors to the Imperium and devotees of the Ruinous Powers. The initial landing force on Istvann V fell into a trap set by the Traitors and, despite their martial skills, the three loyal Legions were forced to begin a tactical withdrawal toward their landing site, which had been fortified by the four Traitor Legions secretly forming the second wave of the assault on Horus' forces. At this moment the second wave opened fire on the retreating Loyalist Marines, crushing them between the hammer of Horus' forces and the anvil of the fortified drop site. Despite a heroic defence, the three loyal Legions were practically destroyed; all but a handfull of battle brothers fell on that fateful day. After this sad defeat the Salamanders, as well as the other two betrayed Space Marine Legions, were unable to perform any tasks the Emperor had planned for them and spent the rest of the Heresy rebuilding their forces. Second War for Armageddon Led by Chapter Master Tu'Shan, whose tenure as Chapter Master had only begun 3 years before, the Salamanders fought with distinction. Among other feats, they managed to defend the bridge over the River Stygies from a thousand strong Speed Freeks Army, and prevented the Orks from destroying a water purification plant, thus saving Hive Tempestora from a slow death by dehydration. Although the hive eventually fell, their efforts allowed it to be evacuated before the Orks could capture the hive. The Salamanders have been involved in many magnificent conquests and wars, but in recent times even these great achievements have been eclipsed by their stalwart fighting during the Second Armageddon War while the Blood Angels set about destroying the Ork horde, and the Ultramarines bent their strength to the defence of the surviving hive cities, the Salamanders took upon themselves the essential but neglected task of protecting the supply convoys, fighting rearguard actions against the Ork advances and escorting refugee columns. So unstinting were they in these arduous but unsung duties, the Salamanders were to earn the gratitude and respect of thousands of Imperial Guardsmen and civilians. The Salamanders have become renowned as sturdy and dependable allies, a reputation which is not shared by other, more unpredictable, Chapters Third War for Armageddon When Ghazghkull launched his new offensive against the Imperial forces on Armageddon, the Salamanders were one of the first Chapters to respond, sending a full seven3 Companies to combat the Orks, including Chapter Master Tu'Shan personally leading his Firedrakes. The Salamanders launched several counter-attacks against the rock-forts landed by the Orks along the Hemlock river. Preferring the close-quarter fighting within the maze of crudely carved tunnels within the Roks to the long-range duels in the desert, the Salamanders made the Orks pay a high price for their audacity. At least three Roks were destroyed by the Salamanders' attacks, slaughtering untold thousands of filthy greenskins. Many chapters fought in the name of the Emperor, or for personal glory. Of the fully twenty chapters, only the Salamanders fought for the people of Armageddon. They are even today much respected for to stand up against one of the Marines Malevolent´s captains that left civil people to die because they "hadn´t time" to defend them.3 Headquarters The Salamanders have built their Fortress-Monastery on Prometheus, Nocturne's oversized moon. Nocturne itself is too unstable to build a large, defensible structure upon. Its gravity and other environmental issues could also make training more problamatic and dangerous than even Space Marines would be able to handle. When not at war, the Salamanders prefer to live among the people of Nocturne and Prometheus, and are the leaders of each settlement. This is a unique trait of the chapter, and makes the Astartes akin to living gods amoung the fierce tribes of their homeworld. Recruitment Like many of the First Founding Chapters (and many subsequent ones as well), the Salamanders recruit exclusively from their home world. Children aspiring to become Space Marines begin at the age of six or seven as the apprentice to a Space Marine. They spend several years learning the art of the smith, and the most able apprentices are then judged by the chapter's Apothecaries and Chaplains to see if they are worthy to become marines. Their training includes many of the same feats the Emperor and Vulkan competed in, finally culminating in the hunting and slaying of a massive Salamander. Each clan-company recruits solely from one of the great clans of Nocturne, and each battle brother is a clan brother as well. The companies each mantain huge, tracked fortresses that crisscross the volcanic surface of their homeworld, serving as an easy way to interact with their fellow companies and the various tribes. Because each battle brother is a clan brother as well, the Salamanders have been known to fight like their savage namesake to rescue their fallen and wounded. Organization The Salamanders follow the Codex Astartes, but their doctrines are also strongly influenced by the Promethian Cult, which places a high regard on self-reliance, self-sacrifice, and loyalty. The hammer and the fire are both important symbols of the cult, and the Chapter makes widespread use of Flamers, Meltaguns, and Thunder Hammers in their forces. As one can imagine, this preference for flamers and Meltas leads to a strong affinity among the Salamanders for close-range shooting when in combat. Because of their early training as blacksmiths, all Salamanders are fully capable of maintaining and performing moderate repair on their weapons and armour, leaving the Chapter's artificers with the free time necessary to create great works of technology and metallurgy. As a result, the Salamanders Chapter has an unusually high number of master crafted weapons and Artificer armour. The Chapter also favours the use of Land Raider Redeemers. In an interesting example of juxtaposition, however, the fluctuating gravity of Nocturne makes training with certain units such as Land Speeders and bikes difficult, therefore the chapter makes little use of them, in favour of Devastator squads and Terminator Squads (the chapter has 120 veterans as opposed to the typical 100). Indeed, it is fitting that Salamanders be lacking in the way of Fast Attack, as for some inexplicable reason, they naturally have slightly slower reflexes than most Space Marines. It should be noted though, that their reflexes are still significantly faster than those of a normal human. Also, as a result of a reaction between their genetics and the high levels of radiation on Nocturne, Salamanders battle brothers have dark or jet black skin and bright, burning eyes. This appearance is entirely superficial, but has intimidated more than one rebellion into submission without firing a shot.2 Trained never to give up or retreat, Salamanders are capable of going on when their entire squad is dead, holding positions for months on end. This is one of the more significant effects of Promethean doctrines upon the Chapter's collective psyche. Before each battle the salamanders get a brand mark each bye a brander-priest. This symbolises their respect for the chapter. Only veterans ever get brand marks in their faces.*1 Salamanders differ from most if not all other chapters in that each company possesses 120 men as opposed to the standard 100 that the Codex Astartes promotes. Additionally, instead of having 10 companies, the Salamanders have only 6 companies of marines in addition to a small company of about 60 scouts. The Chapter organization of the Salamanders is as follows: (The Fire Drakes) First Company Chapter Master: Tu'Shan Squads: '''12 Veteran Squads '''Support: '''Dreadnoughts, Rhinos, Razorbacks, Land Raiders, Terminator Squads '''Company Colors: White Salamander head on black left shoulder (Battle Company) Second Company Captian: Unknown Squads: '''7 Tactical Squads, 3 Devastator Squads, 2 assault Squads '''Support: '''Dreadnoughts, Rhinos, Razorbacks, Bike Squads, Landspeeders '''Company Colors: White Salamander head on black left shoulder (Battle Company) Third Company Captian: Agatone Squads: '''7 Tactical Squads, 3 Devastator Squads, 2 assault Squads '''Support: '''Dreadnoughts, Rhinos, Razorbacks, Bike Squads, Landspeeders '''Company Colors: Yellow Salamander head on black left shoulder (Battle Company) Fourth Company Captian: Doc'Tyr Squads: '''7 Tactical Squads, 3 Devastator Squads, 2 assault Squads '''Support: '''Dreadnoughts, Rhinos, Razorbacks, Bike Squads, Landspeeders '''Company Colors: Green Salamander head on black left shoulder (Reserve Company) Fith Company Captian: Mulceber Squads: '''8 Tactical Squads, 4 Devastator Squads '''Support: '''Dreadnoughts, Rhinos, Razorbacks '''Company Colors: Black Salamander head on Yellow left shoulder (Reserve Company) Sixth Company Captian: Unknown Squads: '''8 Tactical Squads, 4 Devastator Squads '''Support: '''Dreadnoughts, Rhinos, Razorbacks '''Company Colors: Green Salamander head on Yellow left shoulder (Scout Company) Seventh Company Captian: Unknown Squads: '''6 Scout Squads '''Support: '''Scout Bike Squads, Land Speeder Storms '''Company Colors: Black Salamander head on White left shoulder The Salamanders also have an intimate knowledge of the ways of metal and fire, forging great relics and powerful items. They have more Tech-Marines than normal, although not a disproportionate number. Because each battle brother can completely repair, service and modify their own arms, power armor and wargear, the Techmarines of the Salamanders are free to craft intricate and powerful items of incredible workmanship and technology. Vulkan himself was a great artificer, the only primarch able to match his skill was his metal-handed brother Ferrus Manus, although Vulkan himself prefered to work the steel over a flame, just like he had when he was young. Appearance and Colors The Salamanders are typically armored in bright green armor and trim, with black shoulders and backpack, and gold chest eagle, they also have coal black skin and glowing red eyes, and ornamentation on their weapons and vehicles. Their symbol is a white silhouette of the armored and spiked head of a Salamander lizard. Salamander Space Marines have often been depicted in both drawings and models as having dark complexions and features worn commonly by the radioactive surface of their home planet Nocturne. Successor Chapters The Salamanders have no officially proven successor chapters. This may be because they had little to give if they were in fact massacred at Istvaan V. However, some chapters, such as the Storm Giants and Black Dragons, seem to have similarities in Physique and tactical doctrines. Notable Salamanders *Vulkan - Primarch of the Salamanders. *Tu`Shan - Chapter Master *Vel'cona - Chief Librarian.2 *Vulkan He'stan - Forgefather2 *Argos - Master of the Forge3 *Xavier - Chaplain (dec.) *Elysius - Chaplain3 *Ko'tan Kadai - Previous Captain of the Third Company*3 (dec.) *N'keln - Previous Captain of the Third Company, Kadai's successor*1 (dec.) *Pyriel - Librarian.3 *Praetor - Terminator sergeant*3 *Dak'ir - Veteran Sergeant.*3 *Tsu'Gan - Veteran Sergeant.*3 *Fugis - Apothecary.3 Sources *1:Index Astartes IV *2:Codex: Space Marines (5th Edition) *3:Fires of War by Nick Kyme *4:''Salamander ''(Novel) by Nick Kyme Category:S Category:Space Marine Chapters